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Tuesday, May 15, 2018

By now we are all heading into the home stretch of the school year with our students and staffs. Celebrations are taking shape and students and teachers alike are getting restless as the days pass by. Undoubtedly, the year is coming to an end.

Before you put all of your thought into your ending, let's reflect back to the beginning. Do you recall that first month? Do you remember what you did to kick off your year to set the tone for the teaching and learning that has happened these past 8 months?

My (obvious) guess is that you focused on the power of relationships.

Your beginning, like mine, was consumed with getting-to-know-you activities, completing learner inventories and, of course, simply learning the names of your students. You were engaged and invested. You were discovering who you would spend your year with.

Now that the year is almost over, how will you finish? Will you remain as engaged and invested until that final bell on that final day?

Personally, I am fully entrenched in our year-end celebrations. We have planned out those special moments in which we acknowledge the accomplishments of the year. Change is around the corner and we are nervously excited for the next adventure in our journey.

Whether graduation for our kindergarten classes all the way through our graduates of the class of 2018, we must end as strong (if not stronger) than how we started. We must bring the pomp and circumstance and celebrate each milestone of our year.

Build your ending as strong as you built your beginning. This is the end of our year. Remember, your ending is their ending.

Laugh, cry, reflect, share and take note of all that is that you accomplished this year. Find ways to stay connected and stay engaged. There will never be another ending to the one you are about to embark on.

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

This year I haven't taken to the pages. And, the guilt of this has picked away at me over time. I take great pride in growing through writing. Therefore, when not writing, there has been a sense of disappointment. Until today.

As I was listening and learning today from George Coursos, it hit me. While I have had a sense of being at a loss these past few months for not modeling a platform of reflection (blogging) that I take great pride in, I was reminded (via George's comments) that quite possibly my growth this year has happened in other ways, equally as powerful, just not nearly as noticeable.

Mr. Couros reminded me/us that while we need to find ways in which to share out our story, the way in which we do can change over time just like our students change the way in which they learn over time. And even though we may become accustomed to one particular way of doing so, we must constantly be evolving ourselves as learners. And therefore, as teachers.

The reality is that this past year I have found other ways to grow personally and professionally. And finally after months of "guilt" (and with the help of today's conversation), I feel a sense of understanding in my journey.

This year, maybe more than others in years past, I have been more intentional and purposeful with:

Engaging with face-to-fact conversations and having deeper conversations about being impactful and effective in teaching and learning/leading.

Sharing our/my school story of successes and failures in teaching and learning through both my personal twitter account and our school (@wmscats) account and most importantly our school hashtag, #WeaverWay.

Helping others grow by encouraging and modeling multiple platforms of social media to reflect and grow as educators.

Reading some amazing books about my current role as an administrator and future role next year. (Message me if you would like my list!)

Growing others through intentional professional development as a community of learners.

Focusing on relationships first and foremost with students, staff, colleagues and community.

Building leadership capacity in those I work with day in and day out.

Reflecting today, and hearing the message of the morning, I am letting myself "off the hook" for not writing/blogging as much. Because in the end, I have grown just as much (if not more) but just in other ways and while using other tools.

Mr. Couros also reminded me that if we ask our students to change in the ways in which they learn, then I too can change the way in which I am taught. The goal is growth. And for me, I have done just that this year.